De'Aaron Fox Reveals True Reason He Declined Kings Extension

Sacramento Kings star point guard De'Aaron Fox turned down a lucrative contract extension this offseason.

Oct 15, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox (5) calls out a play against the Utah Jazz during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings attempted to grant star point guard De'Aaron Fox a three-year, $165 million contract extension, but the 26-year-old out of Kentucky turned down the offer.

Rather than taking the money now, Fox is betting on himself to earn a supermax contract extension next offseason, which could get up to a projected $345 million over four years if he makes an All-NBA team this season.

Fox spoke to The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater about his decision:

"For one, I'm in no rush." Fox continued, "For two, I just want to make sure where we’re at, because people have seen the league — like, turnover of a team can happen in the matter of a month or two or six months. I mean, if we were contending for a championship, (it might be different)... For me, obviously, we're continuing to build."

De’Aaron Fox isn’t rushing to sign an extension with Sacramento, wanting to see if they can build a contender, using Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo’s situations as examples

“I just want to make sure where we’re at, because people have seen the league — like, turnover of a team can… pic.twitter.com/Yz9Lak0Gsz

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 18, 2024

Of course, regardless of how much money is available, most NBA players want to be able to compete for a championship. As Fox enters his prime, it makes sense for him to make sure Sacramento is the right place for him to stay competitive.

While Fox's words might worry some Kings fans, he ensures that he does want to be in Sacramento and spend his whole career here:

"I would love to be here for my entire career, to be on one team, to be in one city, for my entire career,” Fox continued. “It’s not unheard of, but it doesn’t happen a lot, so to be in that category would definitely be great. That’s something that’s amazing."

"But I want to make sure that we’re in that position to be competing and competing at a high level for a long time, not just fighting for a playoff spot. Obviously, the way that the West is going, we have to continue to get better as players and as a team, as an organization. And, I mean, I’m not saying I’m not staying or that I am staying. But I would love to be here, and I want to make sure that we’re competing at a high level.”

De'Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan getting loud at practice 🗣️

The Kings duo have their final #NBAPreseason game tonight at 10:30pm/et on NBA League Pass! pic.twitter.com/sXYgJ8EpBJ

— NBA (@NBA) October 17, 2024

Fox has a significant career-altering decision to make regarding his contract, and it makes complete sense for the star guard to wait until next offseason to sign a potential extension.

Fox makes it clear that he wants to remain a King, and of course, the Sacramento front office would love to retain him as long as possible. But, it puts a lot of pressure on the organization to prove to Fox that they can be competitive in a tough Western Conference.

If the Kings miss the playoffs again this season and show little upside for more to come, then Fox may have a bigger decision to make regarding his future. The star point guard wants to be a King, but he also wants to win.

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